42) Islas Canarias

Islas Canarias

             

27° 35.730N 15°41.694 W

10 miles SW of Gran Canaria

 

We left at 430pm!  Yesterday.  So much for getting an early start.  Motoring since.  John tried to bring out the main last night and it got caught in the mast.  The wind has to put pressure on the sail as it comes out or else it will bind somehow.  I went partway up the mast today before lunch to fix it.  We’ve got it out and the motor running because we only have 10 knots of wind.  I made spaghetti for lunch and we said that we would put out the Genoa after lunch.  Still waiting for the wind.  We need to keep the boat moving at 5 knots in order to make it to Barbados on schedule. We’re doing 7 right now and I think we need the wind 15+ to get 5 with the main and Genoa.

      

403pm

27° 25.016N 15°58.969 W

The fishing pole is out.  Has been for hours and nothing.  I thought they would deal with it if we got a bite.  So, I go lie down, listen to some Elvis, and before I start to read I wanted to make a journal note.  Which is: I looked aft east-northeast and in the distance barely visible is Gran Canaria about 28 miles away.  And then, looking northwest I can just barely see the peak of El Teide, a gigantic volcanic cone reaching about 12,270’ and is the highest mountain in Spain.  This is the last land we will see for at least 18 days.  We should be getting in the Canary current within the next hundred miles.  We are heading southwest to the latitude of 20° before we turn west hoping to get the trades.

      

We are still motoring.  We have 9 knots of true wind.  Boat speed thru the water is 7.1 and over ground is 6.8.  There is still an adverse current and that is how we know that we have not hit the Canary current.  John is calling Nancy right now for a weather update.

553pm

All I see are ocean and clouds.

   

Saturday 12.3.05

2,488 miles to Barbados

The engine was turned off at 9am.  20 knots from the east, 6-8’ waves, warm and clear.  The waves according to Nancy are supposed to increase to 12’ over the next 2 days.    It’s been rough this afternoon.

   

415pm

2,455 miles to Barbados

 

Spotted a sailboat off the starboard side that eventually crossed our bow about a mile ahead of us.  It’s odd seeing things out here 175 miles SW of Gran Canaria.  Wind is 10-15 out of the SE and we’re moving 5 knots.

Sunday 12.4.05 913am

25° 08.677N 019° 39.302W

388 miles out of Lanzarote and 2,368 miles to Barbados

The wind died down to below 10 knots and we fired up the motor.  We need to keep the speed up to 5 knots to make it to Barbados on time.  This morning we are back to sailing with everything up: main, staysail, Genoa.  We’re moving along at 6.8 thru the water but 6.5 over ground.  Even though the chart says we are in the canary current that is supposed to set westerly we are still in an adverse current against us.  It has been a very dry run so far.  Since we are not going into the waves we have not had any of the leaks that plagued us to the Canaries. 

We just passed over the Endeavor Seamount that comes within 164’ of the surface.  We are now approaching the Cape Verde Abyssal Plain.  At this speed we still have 533 miles to the intersection at 20° where we turn right.  That’s 3 days 5-10 hours.

248pm

The wind went below 8 so we tried to go wing on wing and that didn’t work because we needed another pole for the staysail since we put up the spinnaker pole on the Genoa.  Then we tried everything on starboard and the boat slowed to 2.  I put the fishing pole out when we were down to 3-4 so we could troll.  When we motor and get above 5 we are just too fast.  We’re doing 7 and I don’t think we’ll get anything on the pole.  But we’re heading towards the predictable trades faster now.

  

Monday 12.5.05 947am

23° 37.363N 021° 52.210W

539 miles SW of Playa Blanca, 294 miles west of Mauritania, Africa

2233 miles to Barbados!

John just said, as he is sweeping the floor, “If I find that fucking parrot I’m going to kill it!” 

I came on watch at 6am and couldn’t wait for John to get up.  I made banana pancakes and coffee and it was so good.  We are motoring, wind at 5 knots, flat seas, the swells are noticeable.  The temp is 73° inside.  I have not worn shoes since leaving Rubicon.  I switched to shorts a couple days ago.  I saw a freighter off the stern this a.m. when I came on.  Saw 2 birds close to the water.  Where did they come from and where are they going?

Today at 430pm we will have been at sea for 4 days.  It is still another 384 miles to the Cape Verde Turn, which then we will point at Barbados.  We have started a list of sayings that apply to this trip and titled it Cruising is:

1)      Having breakfast any time you want.

2)      Doing ‘watch’ so you can change where you sleep.

1044am

2,227 miles to Barbados!

At about 2,200 miles from Barbados we will be equidistant between Italy and Barbados.  It’s daunting while looking at the chart that shows our path.  It’s about 78° now and I want to go swimming to get clean and just swim for the hell of it.  The water temp is 77°.  Yesterday after fiddling with the sails I was pretty warm and wanted to jump in.  I told John that when we are becalmed again I wanted to swim.  I really want to swim at the halfway point to Barbados.  Just to have done it. 

1212pm

2,219 miles to go to Barbados

It’s 78° and the water is almost 78°.  It is so tempting to go swimming, but uhm we’re doing over 7.

137pm

564 miles out of Lanzarote

Anyway, I went out and forward and there was John looking over the side.  I climbed on the coach roof and we started talking.  I saw some trash go by in the water and then he got up and then we saw a freighter on the horizon and then I saw a sailboat even further and we remarked what a great place to stand to see stuff.  And then, he says he has a chair that goes up there and… we strapped it in place and it is the most comfortable place on the boat.  He’s up there right now with a beer and binoculars.  I’m going up there later with a book and try to soak up some sun and just enjoy the craziness of sitting up there underway.  I put my feet in the water and 77° feels pretty chilly.  When it hits 80° or we are half way to Barbados I am jumping in.  Maybe sooner because it would be nice to take a bath.

I finally figured out how to copy images off Nobeltec, put them on the flash drive, transfer to my laptop, convert to jpg and insert into these journal pages.  The nav images are going to be much better now instead of my digital pics.

312pm

John turned off the motor to let it cool so he can add some cooling fluid.  Put up the main and the Genoa.  We’re doing 6.6 thru the water with 14 true.  The wind has shifted enough to the northeast that it appears to be a trade wind.  We adjusted the heading to head towards Barbados a little more than heading to south 20°.  Our GPS speed across the ground is 5.6, the VMG (velocity made good to Barbados) is 5.3 and thru the water is 5.9.  This means that we still have an adverse current that is slowing us down half a knot.  And the angle to Barbados is still just that, an angle and not heading directly there.

549pm

2,190 from Barbados

23° 24.615N 022° 35.528W

We just had butter Parmesan spaghetti and wine and 10 minutes later the pole got a strike.  I went out and reeled it in.  It put up a great fight.  It was a yellowtail tuna about 15-18”.  John wanted me to lift it up so he could get a picture of me with it on the line and it dropped off.  I’m kind of glad because we just ate and it was small for a tuna.  I want it to get big.

                                   

650pm

I was down rearranging things on my shelf, uh the place where I sleep, and the pole got a hit.  It was a strong runner.  I reeled in an 18”? yellowtail tuna, Alan cleaned it, John bagged it.  Well, what the hell was I doing?  It just so happened that the bucket was lost some time ago and now scooping water is pretty tough.  I had a square Tupperware while I kneeled on the transom and scooped water.  We got it done and today for lunch I will bake it.

For the record, the cedar plug was the only thing this run that got a hit.  While motoring and going fast at 6-7 nothing bites.  While sailing below 6 they hit.  I knew we had to keep the speed above 3 but below 6 to troll.

Tuesday 12.6.05 1035am     

22° 28.558N 024° 02.199W

2,100 miles to Barbados

682 out of Lanzarote

All the days run together.  It’s 74° inside, party cloudy, light winds of 10 directly behind us, and we are motoring at 6.6.  Been motoring since last night.  I am in shorts and have been for a couple days now.  It is so comfortable out here.  The humidity is low.  I haven’t worn shoes since the day before we left Lanzarote.

I made chorizo and eggs for John and me.  They, of course were in the cockpit discussing an issue.  John gave him a brainteaser and Alan is writing the formula. 

The seas are a bit choppy and we’re rolling now.  It’s hard to type.  I have to look out the window to ward off dizziness.  It’s great that the nav station is at a window.  I’m making time to watch movies every night when dark.  I’ve only seen 3 so far since Rome.  I’ve seen lots of South Park.  It is funny every time!

Yesterday while John and I were talking at the chair I told him that he was in trouble.  I said my mom signed my trip slip for the field trip and we can’t see land and he’s in trouble.  By the way, there is no land around us in sight.  Sets of swells are coming from behind now that are big and rolling.  The wind waves are on top and they are choppy.  Let’s see: rolling, diesel fumes, warm, oh yah this is paradise.  Not!  The sides have been down on the cockpit for days now and at night we can see the stars while sitting there.  I make a point every night of going outside and looking at the stars.  I brought my laptop in the cockpit and studied the star software.  I see the sky at sunset and at times dawn and can see the change in the location of stars.

1238pm

2,092 to go!

690 out of Lanzarote

Directly over the Cape Verde Abyssal Plain

225 to the turn

The cloud layer is a solid layer of stratocumulus.  There is no wind and there will be no wind in this very stable air mass.  We have to get out from underneath it.

John made a comment about one of my journals that I am working on.  He has made funny comments about all the pics I take of me and they are all the same, kind of.  He said, there’s that guy again.  How does he get in all the shots?  Who would’ve known Richard Branson of Virgin Airlines…

136pm

We just set the clocks back again.  I found the atlas software that has the graphic of world time zones that I wanted for my journals.  Upon closer look I determined that we indeed had traveled into another time zone. I told John and he agreed since the sunrise was at 8 this morning and should be at 7.

338pm 22° 06.422 N 24° 35.564 W

John just talked to Nancy and got a weather update.  It seems that there is a large area ahead of us that is flat and calm and has no wind.  We are at 24° W and we need to get to 40° W to get on the other side of it and get supposed wind.  That’s 800+ miles from here.  We might have to motor for another 800+ miles and I am so tired of diesel exhaust!

715pm

It’s dark earlier now.  I made some fish and rice and we all just ate it and Dorado really does taste just like chicken.  John went up and outside on his watch that starts at 7 and yelled, ship!  We were all down below eating and never looked outside and off the port side about 1-2 miles was a very large ship.  The first vessel we’ve seen for a while.  I hope the other guy is looking out for us.

12.7.05 1121am

21° 31.843N 26° 00.557 W

800 miles out of Lanzarote,

1,985 miles to Barbados

265 miles NNW of Cape Verde Islands

Last night I went on watch at midnight following Alan.  This morning I came on at 9 and noticed a gift from Mother Nature.  The wind shifted slightly and was now out of the east-southeast. Previously it was out of the northeast and that has limited our sailing direction.  I checked the wind angles, wind speed, headings, etc and decided to put up the Genoa.  I asked Alan to ease the furling line.  We got it up, changed heading and got the boat above 5 and into the 6s well above the sloppy 3-4 we just had.  The greatest benefit is that now we are able to sail southwest.  South sends us closer to the 20^° which we need to be to get the NE trades and we are able to sail west at the same time making way towards Barbados.

I sat in the chair and read this morning and got some warm sun.  The sky is partly cloudy.  I put some water in the sun and am going to take a saltwater shower today after the water warms.  The saltwater is 81.3°.  It’s getting warmer as we head west.  It should be in the high 80s in the Caribbean.

At 430pm today we will have been at sea for exactly 7 days.  I took a shower several hours before we departed.  I just took a shower off the transom and it was great!  Seven days is too long between showers.  Now that the water is warm, 81.3°, I will take a shower more often.  I put (2) 2-liter bottles filled with marina tap water and placed them in the sun a couple hours prior.  I scooped the ocean water with a round Tupperware container and it was comfortable, the shampoo and soap lathered with no problem and the warm freshwater rinse was toasty.  It feels great to put on clean clothes and be clean.